Shadowed Future
by silent song of shadows
Summary: Trina is on the run when she is discovered by Gilan and taken into the Merric ward. She begins a new life with new friends, but her past refuses to stay buried completely... DISCLAIMER: Don't own Ranger's Apprentice
1. Prologue

The sun had just sunk down beneath the horizon and the shades of twilight were dancing across the ground as Trina slunk past the group of tents pitched near to the edge of a large gorge. She slid over the barren ground, using the movements of the shadows to remain unseen. A horse snorted near by and she froze, pressing herself into the ground as best as she could manage while her stomach clenched in fear.

She couldn't afford to be discovered.

Not when she had already made it that far.

Trina silently counted to fifty before edging along again, moving at a slightly quicker pace as she drew further away from the small encampment of soldiers. Her left foot accidentally brushed against a small shrub and made a rustling noise that seemed overwhelmingly loud in the stillness of the new night.

"Is somebody there?"

Trina didn't move. Her heart pounded furiously as a man she hadn't noticed before stood up and unsheathed his sword.

"Show yourself."

He sounded slightly uncertain, as though unsure as to whether or not his senses had been playing tricks on him. Finally, he turned away and took two steps before whipping around again. Trina didn't move.

_They may not see you, but they will see your movement and then they will kill you. Though their method of death may be preferable to what you would suffer at my hands for failing your task._

The voice echoed inside her head and she angrily thrust it away. Trina did not want anything from her past to interfere with her future.

And she would have a future.

Thawn had escaped and so would she. She would be free to live her own life without _him _ordering her around.

The man sheathed his sword before sitting down again with a groan. Trina cautiously made her way closer. She was unarmed, and the man might have a weapon she could borrow if...

Making sure he was looking the wrong way, Trina carefully selected a stone and tossed it to her left. The sentry jumped up as it clattered on the rocky ground, whipping out his sword as he called out a challenge yet again. When the stone decided not to reply, he moved forward to see who was there. Trina's eyes narrowed as she swiftly and silently searched the post he had just deserted.

There was a bow and a quiver of arrows, neither of which would be of any use to her, a canteen of water, some bread and a long dagger in a sheath. Trina took the dagger from its case, inspecting it critically before sheathing it again and tucking it into her boot.

The sentry sheathed his sword again and Trina darted off to the right, loosing herself in a tangle of marsh and long grass. She advanced cautiously, testing each patch of ground to make sure it was solid before placing her full weight on it.

As the night wore on, Trina slowly made her way across the marsh. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do. All she knew was that wherever she ended up couldn't be any worse than the place she had escaped from.

There was no possible way anything could have been worse than that.

Five days later, Trina had been travelling without any interruptions. The land started getting firmer and she realized that she was out of the marsh. Ahead of her, towering trees beckoned and invited her to come explore their shadowed trails. The reality of her situation hit her and she suddenly felt small, insignificant, and helpless. Trina took a deep breath to calm herself before making her way into the forest. She would not give up now.


	2. Surprises and curiosity

Gilan relaxed and closed his eyes as he sat at the base of a young maple with one of his legs stretched out in front of him and his hands clasped over the knee of the other. Blaze was grazing nearby, seeming to revel in the feeling of being free from her saddle. The offending piece of equipment was tucked away at the base of an oak tree with several packages of food. Gilan glanced up at the sun, noted that it was about time for lunch, turned to get up and retrieved some, and then froze.

The girl who was in the process of raiding his luggage was frozen too.

Gilan noted instantly that she was holding a piece of bread in her right hand while her left was still in the sack.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask?" He raised an eyebrow, copying the movement his mentor had been fond of using on almost every available occasion.

The girl stared at him warily, not responding.

"There's a pot in the other bag beside that one and some herbs as well. If you wouldn't mind getting them out I'll make the fire and we can get a good stew going."

Gilan deliberately turned the other way as he got up and went over to collect some dead branches from beside the stream he had stopped at. The girl didn't look like she was an enemy, but he wasn't going to take any chances. For all he knew, she could be part of a group of bandits waiting to ambush an unsuspecting traveller.

"Alert." He whispered softly to Blaze as he passed by his horse. Blaze pricked her ears in response.

When he had the firepit built and ready, he was mildly surprised to find that the girl hadn't ran away at the first opportunity, but had actually gotten out the pot and herbs, setting them down within his reach before retreating a safe distance away, and was now regarding him suspiciously as he created a spark with his flint and tinder. She reminded him of a small bedraggled kitten he had found years ago when he was a young apprentice. It had regarded him with the same stare, as though waiting for him to shout or attempt to hurt it. The kitten had eventually recovered and as far as he knew it was still frolicking around at his Redmont castle.

Gilan acted as normally as he could, hoping that he would be able to figure out if there was any danger to his fief that involved her if he could get her more relaxed. People tended to give more things away when they weren't tense.

The girl didn't say anything as the meal was prepared. Gilan set out a bowl of the stew for her.

"Going to join me?"

Blaze hadn't given off any signals to warn of any other strangers yet, but Gilan was careful to sit by his bow and quiver of arrows so that he could defend himself at any given moment.

The girl ate her meal in silence, sending wary looks his way every once in a while. When the meal was finished, nothing else out of the ordinary had happened so Gilan decided it was time to get some answers.

"I'm Gilan, Ranger of Merric Fief." He introduced himself. "Who might you be?"

The girl hesitated, looking carefully at him as if trying to decipher any ulterior motives.

"I'm Katrina. Katrina Newleaf."

"Nice to meet you Katrina. What brings you here today?"

"Nothing." Katrina shrugged.

"Nothing?" Gilan raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just... passing through I guess."  
"Where to?"

She shrugged again. "Nowhere."

Gilan studied Katrina in silence for a moment, weighing his options. On the one hand, he could easily just leave her to fend for herself as she had obviously been doing for quite some time judging by the grime she was coated with. He didn't exactly have any obligations to her.

But if he was to leave her on her own, she was most likely going to have to continue stealing from other people to survive and he was responsible for helping keep Merric fief safe from thieves. Katrina could easily end up getting tangled with a group of bandits who would help her stay alive, but that would again put her against the law.

"Don't you have any family to stay with, Kitten?"

Katrina gave him a weird look before shaking her head.

"My parents are dead and my older brother ran away years ago." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Did you just call me 'Kitten'?"

"I do believe I did." Gilan was slightly startled with himself.

"Why did you call me that?"

"Because you remind me of one that I once met."

"Must have been one pretty pathetic animal." Katrina muttered under her breath. Gilan mentally smacked his head several times against a tree trunk. He was letting himself feel sorry for her and in doing so was trying to come up with ways to help her. That was not at all part of his duties as a ranger.

"If you don't have anywhere to go, may I make a suggestion?"

Katrina looked at him hesitantly, as if unsure as to whether or not she should trust him.

"You could become a ward of Merric Castle."

She stared at him, uncomprehending, and Gilan wondered yet again why he was going to all of this trouble for her.

"Basically, the Baron has set up a system where orphans from the fief are taken in and trained and when they turn fifteen they are accepted into one of the different trades." He paused. "How old are you anyways?"

"Thirteen."

"So... you'd get about two years there." Gilan raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd prefer to be off on your own?"

Katrina shook her head slowly. Gilan found himself strangely relieved that she hadn't protested. He mentally told himself that he would keep an eye on her. There was something about her that intrigued him.

Trina's branch swayed with the rest of the tree as the wind blew through it. Up at the top of the elm, she could be on her own away from the stares and whispers of the other wards.

After having practically no contact with anyone her age for most of her life, it was really weird to be suddenly surrounded by so many younger folk.

Another problem with the transition was the classes she now had to attend. Trina was miles behind the others in her year as her education had been centred around... _other _things. Being able to remember everything she heard or saw was turning out to be a handy gift during the day, but at night it was a curse. Trina had taken to sleeping outdoors after wakening her roommates during one particularly awful nightmare.

Trina sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that she had run away with Thawn when the chance had presented itself. But no, she had wanted to stay with her mother and Thawn had promised that he would find some way to rescue both of them when she told him. Trina wouldn't have had to have witnessed her mother's horrible death if she had gone. She hadn't known what was going to happen.

"Trina! Hey, Trina!"

Trina looked down from her perch at the small figure below who was waving to her frantically. Kayla Mentril seemed to have decided from the day they had met that Trina was her pet project for study, and Trina could never figure out how the slightly younger girl had roped her into teaching Kayla how to defend herself from attackers. Good memory or not, Kayla had a way with words that left Trina befuddled whenever they had an argument.

Trina swung herself down from branch to branch until she could jump the rest of the way without hurting herself. Kayla's dark red hair was hanging over one shoulder in a ponytail and her blue eyes were sparkling eagerly.

"Can we start now? You promised!"

"May as well."

Trina undid her blond hair and redid it in a high ponytail before wrapping the end around to make a bun.

"So, first off I'm going to teach you how to roll."  
"How to roll? Why would I need to learn that?"

"I'm going to be using you to demonstrate these moves. You will get hurt if you don't know how to properly comply."

"Oh."

Kayla watched carefully as Trina demonstrated.

"Now you try."

Kayla's face was taunt with concentration and Trina noted that her whole body was tensed as she tried to copy Trina.

"You need to relax."

"Relax?"

"Yes." Trina nodded. "You need to keep your body loose enough to let it flow from one movement into another. If you try too hard, you get tense and you can't perform as well."

Kayla tried again.

"What's the new kid trying to make you do? Humiliate yourself? You already do a good enough job without any help from the stray."

Trina looked calmly at the speaker.

Derek Mitford was the unofficial leader of her year group. Those who pandered to him found their life a whole lot easier than those who either ignored or opposed him like Trina and Kayla.

"She's too smart to humiliate herself, which is why she doesn't go whining to you."

Trina didn't particularly care about Derek one way or another. He was a mere fly compared to others she had known.

"Ah, so the stray actually knows how to talk? Stray's parents actually taught her something?"

Derek's two followers, Braeden and Karl laughed at their leader's taunt.

"My parents felt it better to teach me other things than how to throw my weight around."

"Yeah, right. Why don't you show what you know then? Or are you too good for us mere orphans and can't lower yourselves to our level?"

"Alright then." Trina shrugged. If Derek wanted to see what she knew, she'd show him some of what she knew. But only a very little part. If she showed too much, people would start asking questions and rooting for answers and then Trina would get into trouble and if they found out who she was...

"Alright what?" Derek tilted his head suspiciously.

"Attack me." She said simply.

"Attack you?" He looked at her incredulously.

"Without boring us all with your _incredibly _witty sallies."

Trina balanced lightly on the balls of her feet. Kayla had backed a way and was watching with wide eyes. Derek hesitated, looking around to see if there were any adults.

"You want him to fight you?"

A small group was starting to gather around. Eva, another new year mate and the prissiest girl alive, was looking scandalized.

"Yes." Trina had no patience for the whole 'boys don't hit girls' and 'rules of chivalry' when it came to fighting. If you had an enemy, you fought them and you didn't loose. Simple as that.

Whispers began to flit through the group of about fifteen people. There was no way Derek could back out of the fight without loosing face.

"Fine then." Derek raised his chin haughtily. "Just don't go whining to mummy and daddy when I'm finished with you." He raised his fist and the watchers fell silent in anticipation as he swung a punch at Trina. She merely swayed to the side, allowing the fist to pass by without any impact. Derek stumbled forward and she stuck out her foot. The boy crashed to the ground and a ripple of laughter spread through the onlookers.

"Come on."

Derek's two companions joined him in the circle. Trina balanced lightly on the balls of her feet, eyes narrowed as she calculated her opponents. None of them were skilled in hand to hand combat and their main strength was their strength. She made it their weakness as she dodged around, never staying in one place for too long as she jabbed punches at the boys. Her mind began to slide into the mode it had been trained to maintain and nervous whispers began to fly around the watchers as Trina began to fight with lethal accuracy. Karl went down with a dislocated shoulder and a twisted ankle. Braeden went shortly after from a punch that knocked him out.

Derek found himself with his back against the trunk of the elm tree and a dangerous opponent in front of him.

"I'm sorry!" He sobbed from the pain of his broken nose and out of fear. "Please, please stop!"

A vice like hand grabbed his throat and he found himself looking into a pair of dark, cold, unfeeling eyes. The eyes of a killer. His sobs froze in his throat from fear.

"P-p-please..." Came his strangled whisper. The eyes that were boring into his stopped and then Trina let go as quickly as she could, stepping back from him to allow him to sink to the ground.

The audience hadn't seen what Derek had seen in Trina's face and burst into vicious applause. Applause that died away as Trina pushed her way through the people to get away from the victory. Confused muttering arose as she vanished around the corner of the building the wards slept in.

Out of their sight, Trina broke into a run. She didn't stop until she came to a massive oak with leafy foliage. Trina shot up the tree, going higher and higher until she was completely invisible. Only then did she close her eyes in horror, shuddering as she remembered how easily she had defeated the boys and how close she had come to killing Derek.

The face of her former trainer swam before her with its sadistic grin. He would have been disappointed that she hadn't finished off the last opponent.

_The only defeated enemy is a dead enemy... _

The motto had been drilled into her head.

She couldn't escape it.

She had almost let her past take over and had almost allowed it to kill an untrained boy whose only problem was the want of authority.

Gilan frowned thoughtfully as he watched Kitten run away from the fight. He had been watching her work with the other girl from her year and had been impressed. He had seen the bully's challenge and her response. He could have interfered, but he had wanted to see how she had handled it.

He hadn't exactly been expecting to see Kitten take on three opponents at once and defeat them so easily. Someone had obviously trained her in hand to hand combat. When she had defeated the last boy, Gilan had seen a look in her eyes that had made him draw his strikers and prepare to knock her out if she carried through. Then she had come to her senses and instead of gloating over her victory or making further threats she had run off as though terrified.

Gilan put away the strikers and silently moved away from the scene of the fight. None of the onlookers had seen the ranger before the fight and none of them noticed him after because he didn't want them to. He wanted to have a think. His original feelings of intrigue were deepened. Kitten was becoming more of a mystery with each passing day. She was skilled in hand to hand combat, good at moving silently and adept at concealing herself. She seemed to be uncertain around people her age but was willing to make friends with that other girl.

Gilan was curious, and a curious Gilan was not someone you wanted to have around you if you valued your sanity.

**A/N**

**Replies to reviews!**

**Ranger Robbin:****I wasn't planning to make her a Mary-Sue as you can probably see from this chapter... Thanks for being first to review!**

**Savannah Silverstone:****They don't have a OC choice in the character list, so I figured that Gilan's going to be the second main character in this. I am definitely planning to include Halt and Will somewhere in there... eventually...**

**Wolfeschatten:****I'm glad you liked my beginning. My prologues tend to be short, but I hope to keep the majority of my chapters at least this long.**

** 1904:****I'm afraid you're going to have to wait to find out who she is... just a few more chapters if you can hang in that long.**

**FarmersDaughter,maggiestarjump,Artibeth,lili:****I'm glad you're enjoying it so far and I will try to update often. **

**Suggestions/****_positive _****criticism welcome!**

**Thank you for reading,**

_**Shadow**_


	3. Halt helps out

Halt was coming closer on Abelard. Gilan moved towards the road ahead of him impatiently. Kitten had proved to be more of a mystery to him than he could solve and he wanted his former mentor's thoughts on the matter, but first the traditional 'attempt to trick your mentor' ritual had to be observed and it was taking too long.

A twig snapped under Gilan's foot as the Ranger moved carelessly in his impatience. Halt came to a stop facing Gilan, raising an eyebrow.

"Really Gilan? That was your best attempt? I may be older than you, but I am certainly not deaf or blind. A first year apprentice would have done better than that!"

Gilan came out of the bushes and shrugged.

"Whatever."

Halt raised his other eyebrow at Gilan's response as he watched his former apprentice carefully while Gilan whistled for Blaze. There was obviously something important on his mind. Gilan mounted and brought Blaze up beside Abelard and the two Rangers moved off together.

"Halt? Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Gilan rolled his eyes impatiently and let out an exasperated sigh.

"You know what I mean." Halt gestured for him to continue.

"You see, there's this girl I met a few months ago-" Gilan paused and looked at Halt curiously. His former mentor had brought Abelard to a sudden stop when the word 'girl' was mentioned and was staring at him as though he had sprouted a second head. In the bushes off to the left of the road, he could hear the sounds of someone trying to muffle their laughter and a few seconds later Crowley staggered out, doubled over as he unsuccessfully attempted to regain control.

"It's not that funny." Halt shot the Corps Commandant an exasperated look.

"Yes! It is! Asking you... of all people..." Crowley had to lean against a tree for support while Gilan stared from one to the other in total confusion.

"What?"

"Go on! Go on! What's she look like?" Crowley gasped out. Gilan had no idea what was going on.

"Well, she's got dark brown eyes and light blond hair, she's about average height and pretty normal looking for a girl."

"How old is she?" Gilan shot a look at Halt before replying. His mentor was looking at him pityingly.

"She's thirteen."

"Isn't she a bit young for you?" Halt raised an eyebrow. Gilan was perplexed.

"Young for me?" He echoed. Crowley, who had almost regained control, began laughing even harder, slumping on the ground as he howled helplessly.

"Relationship-wise?"

Gilan jerked Blaze back a step in total shock.

"Wait, what?!"

Poor Crowley was almost suffocating from laughter as Gilan realized what his talk about Kitten had sounded like.

"No, no, no, no and no! Nothing like that! I wanted to ask you what you thought about her?"

"What I thought about her?"

Gilan threw up his hands in exasperation.

"She may look normal for a girl, but she doesn't act normal and I can't figure out what she's hiding. It might be something important but I can't figure it out and I wanted to ask you if you had any ideas."

"You should get to know her better!"

"I would advise you to get a grip on yourself before I help you along with an arrow or two." Halt threatened Crowley as he started Abelard again.

Gilan brought Blaze beside Halt, waiting until Crowley was out of earshot before beginning his explanation.

"I found her in the forest a few months ago when she was trying to steal some food from me. I brought her to the Ward and I've kept an eye on her since then and I can't figure out where she might have come from. She hasn't had the same kind of schooling the other wards have had and is really behind them in almost every subject, but a short time after I left her there she got into a fight with three of the boys there."

Halt raised an eyebrow.

"A fight?"

Gilan nodded.

"She beat them all easily. It was actually rather... unnerving to watch. She seemed to transform from girl to killing machine. I was actually about to stun her with the strikers."

Halt frowned.

"What do you mean 'transform'?"

"Her eyes took on this calculating look and she seemed... detatched from the fight, as though she didn't care whether or not she killed those boys. And she obviously could have. But when the last boy was begging for mercy, she seemed to realize what she was doing and ran away."

Halt was silent as Gilan continued.

"And then the morning after she went up to the boys and apologized for fighting with them."

Halt raised an eyebrow.

"Apologized?"

"Yes. She said she shouldn't have roped them into an unfair fight since they weren't trained like she was. And then she just walked away."

"So she's talented at hand to hand fighting."

"She's a master." Gilan looked at his mentor seriously. "The three of them didn't pose the slightest problem for her. I want to know how a thirteen year old girl can have that much experience. And you know what else? She's tentative friends with another girl from the ward and is teaching her self defence. I heard them talking about the fight after and she claimed to be better with daggers than she was without weapons."

Halt was looking serious and thoughtful.

"Anything else she was good at? The names and use of plants, for example?"

Gilan looked slightly surprised.

"Well, I did hear her mentioning how she would counteract a poison made with nightshade once. But nothing since then."

"And you're positive she's Araluen?"

"Yes." Gilan didn't hesitate. "Why?"

"She sounds like a Genovesan."

"A whonowhatta?"

"Genovesan. They come from the city of Genovesa in Toscana. A race of mercenaries with a comprehensive knowledge of poisons. Each one is armed with a crossbow and a selection of daggers which they know how to use."

Gilan nodded slowly.

"But she's not from Genovesa, I'm quite sure. She doesn't have any accent."

"What was she dressed like when you found her?"

"She was wearing soft boots, a tunic, leggings and a ragged cloak."

"She doesn't dress like one either. And I've never heard of any outsider being taught by Genovesans. They guard their trade jealously."

Gilan sighed. So much for clearing up the mystery. This just made it all the more confusing!

"So, what do you think she's hiding?"

Halt shrugged.

"If you can act like a ranger and not a scatterbrained first year, perhaps I might be able to head down to Meric fief with you after the gathering to take a look."

"Great!" Gilan perked up. If anyone could figure out what was going on with Kitten, it was Halt.

Gilan and Halt watched Trina carefully as she chatted with Kayla. She seemed a lot more open and outgoing than Gilan had ever seen her and she was even laughing with the other girl.

"But really, Kayla. What did you expect me to do? He was attacking me!"

"He was _flirting _with you! Trying to show off to impress you!"

"He tried to shove me against the wall!"

"But did you really have to throw him out the window?"

Gilan's eyes widened in shock. Halt raised an eyebrow.

"What else was I supposed to do? I wasn't sure if he was trying to kill me or merely capture me."

"It wasn't either of those!" Kayla sounded exasperated. "He thought you were a lovely young woman and he was attracted to you."

"Then he's an even bigger idiot than I gave him credit for."

Kayla shook her head.

"How do you think you'll be a courier if you can't talk your way out of these situations?"

"Why waste your breath and time talking?" Trina slumped against a tree. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a courier."

Kayla softened.

"Trina, couriers can work in pairs if necessary. We could be a team! And then you wouldn't have to worry about _him_. He'd never expect you to work as a courier."

"Perhaps because he knows I'd be an absolute failure as one?" Trina sighed. "I'd be better off as a bash-and-whacker."

Kayla smacked a hand against her head.

"I will never understand why you insist on referring to the knights by that title."

"You know why! They have absolutely no sense of finesse or grace in their fighting! All they do is wave their swords around and hope they bash the enemy and don't whack their allies."

Gilan wasn't sure whether or not he should be insulted by Kitten's description of the knights. He was a Ranger, but he still used a sword and wasn't certain as to whether she included all sword users under the bash-and-whacker title or not.

"So, maybe you should look to being one because anyone who knows you at all will you you'd never be one!"

"You're hopeless." Kitten shook her head.

"Says the one who can't tell a hug from an attack!"

"It could have been both."

"And you're calling me hopeless?"

Kitten rolled her eyes.

"Do you always have to have the last word?"

"Of course!" Kayla beamed at her. "You should have learned that by now, Trina. But don't worry, you can have the last word whenever I'm not around."

"You're all generosity."

"You're welcome." Kayla made a mock bow.

"Why don't you run along to reserve some of Jimal's pastries before they're all gone?"

"Wouldn't it be faster to have you climb the wall again?"

"It's winter, it's blustery, and I don't feel like it."

"Wimp."

Kayla tossed her head before heading towards the castle. Kitten waited until she had gone inside before stepping away from the tree she had been slumped against, dropping into a fighting stance and whipping out a dagger from her right sleeve as she turned to face the area Gilan and Halt were hidden in.

"I'd like to see you in the open, if that wouldn't be too inconvenient for you."

Her voice had switched from open and friendly to cold and aloof. Neither ranger moved.

"I can feel you staring at me." Kitten looked directly at Halt as though she could actually see him.

"Really?" Gilan stepped forward. Kitten swung towards him, flipping the dagger so she was holding the blade ready to throw before she recognized him.

"Gilan?" She was looking uncertain and wary now. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on you, of course. Making sure you're doing fine."

Kitten looked perplexed.

"Why would you do that?"

Gilan raised an eyebrow.

"Am I not allowed to care about what happens to you?"

Kitten jerked back as if she had been slapped, sheathing the knife as she stepped away.

"You're not." Her voice was tense now. "You can't."

Gilan gestured in the direction Kayla had gone towards.

"Kayla certainly seems to, so why shouldn't I?"

Kitten was trembling now. Her eyes were wide as conflicting emotions played across them.

"It's bad enough that she does. You can't care. You'll just get hurt in the end."

"Kitten..."

She turned and ran away, leaving a perplexed Gilan behind.

"That went well..."

Gilan turned to face Halt.

"Do you understand why I was asking for help, now?"

Halt nodded and the two rangers ghosted away from the castle and down towards Gilan's cottage. The fire was on and the coffee had just come to a boil. Gilan poured two cups for them before sitting down at the table with his mentor.

"So, what do you think?" He asked Halt. The older ranger paused before replying.

"I'm not entirely sure. She certainly doesn't seem like a threat, but she was ready to impale you with that knife of hers when you startled her. If anything, I'd say she's on the run from a bad family situation."

Gilan stopped to think about that.

"That would explain her nervousness." He mused.

"And why she's trying to find a profession that some man wouldn't expect her to have. She's protective of that other girl- Kayla, was it?" Gilan nodded confirmation while Halt continued. "If she had bad experiences with her family, she'd be worried about loosing anyone who gets close to her. Remember what she said to you? How caring for her would only hurt you? I'd guess she lost someone close to her and then she couldn't put up with the rest of the family anymore."

Gilan nodded slowly.

"You may be right." He said uncertainly. "But that doesn't explain where she got her skills from."

Halt shrugged.

"If it makes you feel better, you can continue stalking her to find out more."

"I'm not stalking her!" Gilan protested indignantly, looking at his mentor with injured dignity.

Halt shrugged again.

"By your own admission, you have been following her and listening in to her conversations. What would you call it?"

Sometimes, just sometimes, Gilan wanted to send Halt to go sleep in a tree like Halt had done to Gilan when he was an apprentice.

**A/N Thank you to my reviewers from the last chapter! **

**I'm sorry this one took so long to post, but the computer had a virus so... yeah...**

**And, in case anyone starts to think like Crowley, there will be NO ROMANCE between Gilan and Trina. Gilan can stay with Jenny.**

_**Shadow**_


	4. a new leaf for the corps

**As requested by my reviewers, I have time skipped a year! I plan to post a bunch of one shots from the missing year in their own 'story' sometime, but ****_Darkness of Past, Song of Future _****and ****_Shadowed Future _****will be my priority.**

**And sorry for the long update, but I was away at camp already so... yeah...**

"Follow, Blaze, follow." Gilan whispered to his mare as he pointed at Halt. This year he would definitely catch his mentor.

Gilan slipped from the saddle to continue his stalking on foot, trusting that Halt would think he was still following on Blaze.

Halt continued moving forward on Abelard, giving no sign that he heard the horse behind him. Gilan was positive it was a sham. Halt would have heard the hooves and would be readying himself to face an attack from-

_THUNK_

Gilan froze in shock as Halt's throwing knife buried itself up to its hilt about a metre above his head.

"Much better than last year. Keep it up and you might come near to achieving mediocrity."

Halt had halted and was looking at Gilan with an eyebrow raised. Gilan stood up and wrenched the knife out of the trunk, returning it to his old mentor as Blaze trotted around a bend in the road.

"How did you do it, Halt? How could you have known I was following you on foot?"

Halt shrugged before dismounting.

"I changed gait. You may have commanded Blaze to follow me, but you said nothing about copying Abelard's gait."

Gilan spread his hands in a gesture of defeat before embracing his mentor.

"There's always next year, I suppose."

"One would have thought you would have learned by now that you'll never make it."

Gilan laughed.

"Just wait and see, I'll do the impossible yet. Anyways, it's only impossible because no one's ever done it before."

The two rangers remounted.

"You'll probably have to wait for another four or five years before trying again."

"And why's that?" Gilan challenged. "You think I need four or five years before I'll be good enough to best you?"

Halt put his head to one side, as if considering the statement.

"When you put it that way, I suppose I should have said you'll have to wait several lifetimes before you'd come anywhere near to besting me."

Gilan groaned internally. He really should have learned by now not to give Halt that kind of opening.

"So why did you say four or five years?" He swiftly changed the subject.

"You want to get the best of me, not my apprentice."

"You're getting another apprentice?!"

Halt raised an eyebrow at Gilan's outburst.

"I am planning to. Did you really think you were the only boy I might have noticed with potential to become a ranger?"

"No..." Gilan trailed off, mind flashing to Kitten.

"Jealous that I'm looking for a new pest?"

"Of course not! Why would I be jealous of a poor, unsuspecting boy who'll have to put up with you for years?"

Halt raised an eyebrow again and said nothing. Gilan looked straight ahead and did his best not to squirm under the gaze of his former mentor. Maybe he was a bit jealous of this unknown boy who was going to take his place as Halt's apprentice and would be known for his mentor. Even though Gilan was a ranger in his own right, it had to be admitted that he still thought of Halt as his mentor in a way.

"Well, maybe just a bit..." Gilan finally muttered.

"Gilan, this boy, Will, is a special lad. But he's not you. He is going to be my second apprentice and can't take your place as my first. There might eventually be a bond between the two of us, but it will be different than the one we share."

"Thanks, Halt." Gilan was touched by Halt's gruff display of rare affection.

"Don't go taking out any bad feelings on the boy. It's not his fault."

"So that's why you're reassuring me?" Gilan shot back, attempting to hide his grin. "And here I was thinking you were getting sentimental in your old age."

Halt glared at the younger ranger for a moment.

"Old and senile as you may think me, I still can't help but remember that you have yet to get the better of me on one of these occasions."

Gilan's face was completely professional as he scanned the bushes off to the side and wondered if he'd ever have the last word with Halt around.

_Never._

"Not you too."

_Why ever not?_

Between Halt and Blaze, Gilan was thoroughly out bantered.

As the two rangers trotted into the gathering clearing, Halt turned off to one side.

"I'm going to speak with Crowley about the boy now. You can save us a spot." Gilan nodded.

Halt's conversation would be a mere formality. If Halt thought this boy would make a good apprentice, he would and nobody was going to debate that. Gilan's request for an apprentice was going to be much harder, which was another reason he wasn't going to put it forward to Crowley before the end of the gathering.

Most rangers didn't take on apprentices until they had at least ten or so years of experience. Gilan had only had five years, which meant that he needed to prove himself during the gathering week as ready to take on an apprentice. Throwing into the equation the fact that he was asking to take on a _girl_... It was no wonder he was nervous.

Much more nervous than he had let on when he had enlisted Kayla's help for the final test that would confirm Trina's suitability as an apprentice. He had portrayed confidence as he assured her that he would be able to convince Crowley to allow him to train a female ranger.

That confidence was slowly chiseled away during the week. Gilan strove to prove that he was as good as the rangers who had had twenty or so years of experience, but couldn't help noticing the faults in everything that he did. When Crowley finally closed the gathering, Gilan was so nervous he could hardly approach the corps commandant.

"Crowley?"

"Yes, Gilan? Was there something I could help you with?" Crowley turned to him. Committed now, Gilan steeled himself.

"I was wondering if we could talk privately." If Crowley was mystified by Gilan's request, he certainly hid it well. The commandant nodded and led the way to a small clearing away from the rest of the rangers.

"Well?" Crowley turned to face him expectantly.

"I want to take on an apprentice."

It was out in the open. Gilan braced himself for the ridiculing laughter that would follow the announcement and the scorn of his unsuitability, but it didn't come. Instead, Crowley was looking at him keenly.

"Found a good one, have you?"

"I believe so."

"What's he like?"

Gilan paused to gather his thoughts.

"Already talented in hand to hand fighting and using knives. This kid already has a fairly developed sixth sense of when someone is watching. Closed off to those who aren't close, but extremely loyal to those who are. Completely fine with heights, and honest when asked about things that have happened, whether or not it means worse punishment."

Crowley was nodding slowly.

"It sounds like you've found yourself a good one." He said seriously. "I'd say go for it. You're a bit younger than most, but I think you're mature enough to handle it and there's no telling when another opportunity like this will arise if any do. What's his name?"

"Her name's Katrina Newleaf."

Dead silence hung over the clearing.

Gilan braced himself yet again for the explosion that never came.

"You do realize what a good portion of the corps will say?" Crowley was deadly serious now. "I can guarantee now that there will be those who say that you have a different motive for taking her on that ranger training. Are you prepared to face those who will turn on you for daring to take this step?"

"Yes."

Gilan had been asking himself that question for many weeks and was indeed prepared and preparing himself for the backlash and had been expecting it to start with Crowley.

"Do you think she will be able to handle it?"

"Yes. If there's any girl who would be capable of proving herself to the rangers and handling the gossip it would be her."

"I actually considered taking in female rangers long before this." Gilan was surprised. He had thought that such a thing had never happened before. "But when Halt and I were reforming the corps, we were already fighting against a reputation of being a corps made up of drinkers and gamblers and inviting in women would have made our position much worse. But now, we have overcome that obstacle and I believe the time is ripe for the attempt." Crowley looked Gilan directly in the eye.

"Go for it."

Gilan grinned.

"Would you mind not mentioning it to Halt?"

Crowley's own grin returned.

"Planning for next year already, are you?"

"Possibly..."

"Far be it from me to give Halt another advantage." Crowley smirked.

Trina was looking out a window as she took a break from studying a map of Martinsyde fief when she saw the ranger.

Normally, she wouldn't have taken much notice. After all, she had seen him go in and out from the castle frequently and knew he reported to the baron quite often. But this time, he was looking as though he didn't want to be seen. And as Trina knew only too well, when you tried to look unnoticeable, you were only noticed all the more.

With a quick glance to the door of the room to ensure no one was about to enter, Trina slid onto the windowsill and dropped lightly to the ground. She wanted to know what the ranger was up to and had nothing better to do. She was supposed to be studying the map, but she already had it memorized.

The shadows were already lengthening due to the shorter winter days and Trina moved with them as she silently crossed to the tower wall and began to scale it. She had learned to never give herself time to worry about what would happen if she looked down. The stones were cold and her fingers began to go numb as Trina finally passed the window of the baron's office and settled herself on a narrow perch she had discovered on a previous climb.

"...would never have believed it." The baron's voice floated up from the open window.

"Nevertheless, it has happened." That was the ranger Gilan. Trina heard a man pacing.

"You're absolutely positive?"

"I am, my lord. I personally find the name 'Newleaf' an interesting coincidence."

All boredom was gone in an instant. If the ranger had discovered who she was...

"Very well, Gilan. Take her, deal with it. I still can't believe it."

"You have it in writing. You've seen her yourself. What more do you want?"

Trina risked a peek into the room and saw the ranger brandishing a piece of paper at the baron. The baron shrugged and the ranger picked up a bundle from inside the door, tucking the paper in it.

"I'll be on my way then, my lord. This is best dealt with sooner than later."

"Can't say I'll be particularly upset to see her go. No respect for knights, that one."

They were talking about her.

What were they planning?

What did the paper say?

The ranger turned and left the room. Trina forced herself to calm down before scaling to another section of the wall that was easier to descend.

Trina had barely hidden herself by the gate when the ranger went by, still looking suspicious and carrying the bundle. She watched him move out into the forest and down the road.

She had to know what the paper said.

It could very well be a matter of life or death.

"Where are you going, Trina?" Kayla had come up behind Trina unnoticed, due to the fact that Trina's attention was completely focused on the ranger.

"After the ranger."

There was a pause of stunned silence.

"Why?"

"I think he knows."

And no matter how hard Trina tried to keep her voice calm, there was the tiniest waver of fear.

"I guess I'll see you later, then." Trina nodded before heading after the ranger, but not too directly. If he really knew who she was, there was no way she was going to go waltzing after him without staying unseen.

The ranger diverted off the main road to a smaller trail about a kilometre or so away from Castle Meric. The path was much narrower here and Trina was able to hop from tree to tree to follow without too much noise. It was impossible to be completely silent after all. No one was that good.

The ranger paused to stretch and Trina froze, a rock clenched in her hand. The ranger shifted his bundle from one shoulder to the other and was about to continue when Trina threw the rock into the forest, just past a rather dense bush.

There was no way the ranger was going to get behind the bush and see who was there while holding the bundle and he seemed to realize it too. There was one heart stopping moment when he took the letter out and looked as if he was planning to bring it with him. Then he replaced it carefully before unslinging the longbow he carried ready for use and nocking an arrow to its string. He moved silently towards the bush. Trina waited until he was out of sight before shimmying down the trunk and ghosting over to where the bundle was lying unattended. A corner of the paper was peeking out and Trina had a sudden thrill of foreboding as she took it out.

An iron hand clamped over her wrist.

Instinctively, Trina lashed out desperately, fighting to free herself. The ranger had doubled back! She fought hard, but the ranger obviously had some training in unarmed combat. Trina's best mode of combat was with knives.

The ranger dragged her to her feet, pausing to collect the bundle before forcing her along to the cabin which stood about fifty metres from where they were. Trina refused to go quietly. If she was going down, she would go down fighting and wouldn't give up until she had been dead for five minutes. The ranger forced her into the cabin, shoving her so that she nearly fell to the floor. When Trina regained her balance, she whipped out her dagger, moving to put the table in between them and crouching into a fighting stance. The ranger was standing in front of the door and the window was shuttered.

"I think that's enough of that from you, girl."

In the past few occasions where Trina had had run ins with the ranger, he had been friendly and had called her 'Kitten'. Now, there was no hint of the welcoming personality she had come to almost expect. Instead, there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes and his voice was hard.

"Anything to say for yourself?"

Trina didn't say anything and didn't move. She was ready for the inevitable moment when the ranger would attack her. She would make a break for the door and escape from the fief, possibly Araluen itself. If the ranger knew who she was, she wouldn't be safe anywhere.

"Let's review this, shall we?" Said the ranger in a soft toneless voice. "You followed me into the forest, set up a distraction and tried to steal an important item of mine. What would you expect me to do?"

"I have a right to know what the letter says." Trina matched his previous voice,danger for danger.

"And why is that?"

"It's about me."

"So it is."

Trina was momentarily caught off guard. She had expected the ranger to deny it. He took the letter from a pocket and slid it across the table.

"I suppose you do have a right."

Trina didn't move.

It had to be a trick of some sort.

The ranger took two steps back from the table and folded his arms as though expecting her to take it.

"Sometime before next winter would be nice."

Trina's eyes never left him as she cautiously picked up the paper, glancing down at it briefly. Her memory was good enough to know what it said without having to give full attention to-

Trina actually looked down at the paper in shock and disbelief. She had to have misread.

_Gilan has my permission to take on the girl Katrina Newleaf and train her as the first female ranger._

_Crowley Meratyn, Commandant of the Ranger Corps_

A grin had broken out onto Gilan's face. Trina stared at him, stunned for a moment before regaining herself.

"What kind of a sick joke is this?" She brandished the paper angrily. Of all the things to trick her with, he had to choose the one that Trina actually cared about. She had never admitted it to Kayla or anyone, but being a ranger was an idea she had secretly harboured even when she was a young kid. Rangers were the ones responsible for _his _defeat. Everyone knew he hated ranger and she had dreamed of joining their ranks and making him pay for every last moment of suffering he had caused.

"Kitten, it's not a joke. I spoke with Crowley about you at the gathering and he is allowing me to take you on as a ranger's apprentice." Gilan seemed serious. "You have the talents to be a great ranger. I would have thought you would have preferred it to being a courier or a cook."

Trina stared down at the awful sheet of paper again.

"I can't." She finally whispered.

"Why not?" Gilan sounded so matter of fact. "I've got it cleared with everyone who it needs to be and I even got some help from your friend Kayla. Do you not want to be my apprentice?"

"I do!" She really did. She truly wanted to be his apprentice. But he didn't know... He wouldn't want her...

"Then...?" He spread his arms in an obvious questioning gesture.

"You don't want me as your apprentice. You can't." Trina's voice was starting to tremble now.

"Why not?" Gilan's voice was gentle.

"Because no ranger in their right mind would want to mentor Morgarath's daughter!"

**A/N**

**Expecting that?**

**Who liked how Gilan tested Kitten?! (My sister did!)**

**And I'm not fully sure where I may have hinted anything about a Crowley and Trina romance, but... no. My characters have to be closer in age than that. I can understand an age gap of a few years, but Crowley and Halt are around the same age and in book 2 Halt 'says' he's about thirty years older than Alyss who's about the same age as Trina, and thirty years is just a bit too wide for my liking.**

_**Shadow**_


	5. Chore time

Gilan raised an eyebrow in a Halt-ish fashion at Kitten's outburst.

"Are you calling me insane?"

She seemed temporarily mute. Gilan didn't blame her. He was still trying to process her statement. How could she be related to Morgarath in any way, shape, or form? From all he had heard about the man, a wife and children were not things connected to him.

This evening was turning out to be more complex than he had anticipated. Gilan needed help.

He needed his coffee.

"You mean... you mean... you still want... me? You want me to be a Ranger's apprentice?"

"I want you to be my apprentice." He confirmed with a grin. Kitten was looking lost. "Why don't we have a seat?" Gilan gestured to the chair closest to her before getting a pot of coffee going. She sat down warily, as though expecting him to attack her at any second. He had to chuckle as he sat down.

"What?"

Gilan shook his head.

"Just thinking of the irony of this all. Halt and Morgarath, two enemies who hate each other and have fought against each other and would like nothing better than to kill each other. And here we have Morgarath's daughter hopefully being trained as a Ranger by none other than Halt's former apprentice."

"You were Halt's apprentice?"

Gilan nodded.

"Why would you want me as an apprentice?"

"Several reasons." Gilan paused to gather his thoughts and his coffee, mildly disappointed when Kitten refused a cup. That was something he would need to work on. Every Ranger needed to drink coffee. "You showed talent in silent movement the first time I met you. Of course, I wasn't exactly expecting to have someone try to raid my supplies and people tend to only see the things they expect. Then there was your fighting with those boys-"

"You saw that?" Kitten looked at him in disbelief, paused with a frown, and hesitantly continued. "Were you standing in between the two saplings or beside the maple?"

"What?"

"Where were you standing? I didn't notice you then, but you were either standing between the two saplings or beside the maple."

"How do you remember that?"

Kitten gave a half shrug.

"I remember things I see. Everything I see if I try. Sort of like looking at paintings of the events."

Gilan raised an eyebrow.

"So, if I were to show you a map of Greenfield fief, for example, you would be able to draw it again from memory after seeing it only once?"

Kitten nodded slowly.

"It's been a while since I saw the map of Greenfield, but I'm pretty sure I could still draw it."

"That would be an extremely helpful talent for a Ranger's apprentice. Map reading and drawing are important skills for Rangers. I was standing by the maple, if I recall correctly, but I was impressed by your skill in fighting."

"That's another reason you wouldn't want me." Kitten said quietly, not looking at him. "I was going to kill them."

"But you didn't. You regained control in time and with some training you can break the habit of fighting to kill and start fighting to subdue." Gilan said firmly.

"But... what if I loose control again?" She finally looked up at him with an anguished expression.

"I would stop you, like I would have if it had been needed on that day."

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"You stopped yourself before I needed to."

There was a moment of silence as Kitten fiddled with the edge of her sleeve and Gilan sipped his life saver appreciatively.

"You're also a good climber. That definitely comes in handy on missions. And you noticed when I was watching you that evening when you and Kayla were chatting."

"I didn't notice for a while." She admitted.

"Another thing to work on. You have many skills and talents that would make you a good Ranger with some guidance and a ton of practice."

"But..." Kitten seemed to be struggling to say something.

"But what?" Gilan gently probed.

"But if Morgarath discovers I'm alive he's gonna send people out to kill me and then if you're there they'll hurt you too and then..." She swallowed. "If I do become your apprentice you'll get too attached to me and it'll hurt you if they do kill me."

Gilan set down his coffee and looked Kitten in the eyes.

"I can't promise you that you'll never be in danger." He began slowly. "But I can promise and I do promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe from him. If you will be my apprentice, I will be training you to fight and to protect yourself. I truly do want to mentor you."

After a long silence, Kitten finally nodded her acceptance.

"You can have that room over there." Gilan gestured to a door off to one side. "Your things are in this bundle."

"How did you get them?" Kitten looked shocked.

"I may have had a bit of help from a friend of yours." Gilan grinned. Kitten smiled back before picking up the bundle and making her way into the room Gilan had pointed out.

When she left, he poured himself another cup of coffee, needing the assistance to figure out whether his 'helping the helpless' urge was a blessing or a curse. If he saw someone hurting, he felt obligated to help them.

Gilan didn't go to bed for a long time after the second cup vanished. He was still trying to process exactly what he had gotten himself into.

It took Trina a moment to remember where she was.

Then she shot up in bed, looking around to confirm that she was indeed at the Ranger's cottage. She was a Ranger's apprentice!

Trina could barely see the sun beginning to rise outside her window, light pink and gold shimmering over the tops of the trees. She rolled out of bed, quickly dressing before moving back into the main room.

She was still having a hard time believing that she was actually here. Gilan was going to train her even though she was _his _daughter. It was amazing! He was already up and stoking the fire.

"Good morning, Kitten." He greeted her with a smile. Trina smiled back cheerfully.

"Good morning, Gilan!"

"Aren't we perky this morning?"

"Of course!"

"Great! We have a lot to do today."

Trina wondered what Gilan had planned. Would they be fighting? Would they be learning about stealth and stalking? Trina wolfed down her breakfast, hardly noticing what she was eating. Gilan was drinking coffee again.

"Would you like a cup?"

Trina eyed the dark beverage. It smelled... different.

"Alright..." She said uncertainly. Gilan's smile seemed to light up the room as he reverently poured her coffee, spooning in some honey and masterfully swirling the spoon around to mix it in. Trina took a cautious sip.

The cup was nearly upset as she gagged on the flavour.

"What is that?!"

There was no way it could be coffee. People seemed to enjoy coffee and no one could enjoy that stuff.

Gilan stared at her in horror.

"You don't like coffee?"

"That stuff is disgusting." Trina stated, pushing it away. Gilan picked up the cup and took a sip.

"How can you not like coffee? This is perfectly fine."

Now it was Trina's turn to stare at her new mentor, but her stare was one of disbelief.

"You mean, you actually... you enjoy..." She couldn't fathom how anyone could enjoy drinking it.

"Halt's going to kill me." Gilan muttered, putting his head in his hands.

"Why would he kill you?"

"Because I'm training an apprentice who doesn't drink coffee."

"So, shouldn't he be mad at me instead 'cause I'm the one not drinking that stuff?"

Gilan surveyed her regally for a moment.

"I am still responsible for your training, and that training is going to have to include lessons on why Rangers drink coffee."

Trina wasn't sure that she would like those lessons.

"What other lessons will we be doing?" One problem she had was that if she didn't have a specific assignment to focus on was that she had a hard time waiting patiently. She didn't want to wait any longer.

Gilan set down the now empty coffee mug and stood up.

"Best get going, once I fix my hair."

Trina was positive she had heard wrong until Gilan picked up an empty pot, holding it with one hand and using the other to smooth out his hair while looking at his reflection.

"Kitten." He said in a very serious tone, ceasing his actions.

"What?!" Something must have been very wrong for him to speak like that.

"This pot is tarnished. I can't properly see my reflection in it." Gilan handed her the pot as Trina stared at him in confusion. "Stream's down that way, and we may as well clean all the pots while we're at it. I need their surfaces properly polished and ready to use."

Trina continued staring at Gilan as he sat down comfortably in a chair by the fire and pulled another one closer that had a bunch of papers on it. He began reading the first one in the pile.

"Didn't you say 'we' may as well clean the pots?" Trina asked. She was fairly certain no help was coming, but it never hurt to try.

"I told you, I can't go outside without doing my hair. Someone might see me." He didn't even look up. His voice was normal and steady, but Trina could almost make out a smile quivering around the corners of his mouth. Resigning herself to the inevitable, Trina pulled on her cloak, gloves, hat, and boots before she gathered up the may pots and pans and went out the door in the direction of the river.

It was a crisp winter morning. The sun's rays were filtered through the tree tops and all was silent except for the steady crunching of snow under Trina's boots. It was a fairly short walk to the stream, which was still flowing steadily in spite of the chill in the air. She settled down by the edge of the water and began to scour the pots one at a time, imagining them to bear the faces of... certain people.

When she got back in the house, Gilan was still reading the papers. Another chair had been pulled up and more papers were on it. Trina guessed those were the ones he had already read.

"Done?" He asked cheerfully.

"Indeed I am, milord." Trina replied jokingly. The fresh air had woken her up completely and she was in a very good mood and willing to banter around with her mentor. She still respected him, but she didn't live in awe of him.

"Excellent." He set the paper aside and stood up, taking one of the pots and peering into it. Trina felt her spirits rising even further. Now they could finally begin training.

"Excellently excellent job. In fact, this is so excellent I can see the dirt on the floor reflected in it. We'd better sweep out the cabin."

Gilan gave her the pot again and sat back down, taking up the paper again.

"Broom's behind the door, and I'm pretty sure you can figure out where the floor is."

Trina put the pots away and took off her cloak, gloves and boots before picking up the broom. The sooner she was done the sooner she started training. As she neared Gilan with her weapon, he moved outside of the house to continue reading his papers. It was almost as if he expected her to try and sweep him up along with the other rubbish! How could her suspect her of such a thing?

When the floor was finished, Gilan was horrified to discover that the rug was full of dust... Then the stove was in dire need of cleaning, the windows needed washing and firewood needed to be split and stacked.

With each new task, Trina worked harder to get the job done so that there might still be time to train.

Even with her attitude of fighting to the last hope, it was suppertime by the time Gilan ran out of chores for her to do. He had prepared a rabbit stew and afterwards, the two of them talked in front of the fire.

"The Rangers were founded 150 years ago during the time of King Herbert. What do you know about him?" Gilan asked. Trina shifted uncomfortably.

"I actually never learned about him. They talked about more recent history in my lessons at the ward and I never really learned about history before..." She trailed off apologetically. Gilan nodded.

"King Herbert's known as the Father of Modern Araluen. He brought the fifty fiefs together into an alliance to drive back the invading tribes over the northern border. He felt that for the kingdom to run efficiently, he needed an effective intelligence force."

"Rangers." Trina chipped in, thinking about how that would have worked out. Gilan nodded, gesturing for her to finish her thought.

"There would have been... fifty of them? One for each fief?" Trina continued, looking at Gilan as he smiled encouragingly. "And since some of the important information would have been kept secret from him 'cause the other rulers wouldn't necessarily trust him, so the intelligence group would need to be good at sneaking around to discover the information." Gilan was nodding his head.

"And if they were caught, they'd need to have some fighting skills to escape," Trina continued thinking out loud, "but they wouldn't want to get caught up in an extended fight since that would give their enemies more time to collect other enemies so they would train in long distance weapons like spears or arrows?"

"Correct." Gilan looked at her proudly. "There are fifty of us in the corps, one for each fief and we are trained in stealth and silent movement as well as archery. During times of peace, we act as law bringers."

"Don't the barons do that?"

"The barons enforce the laws. Our job is to bring the law to the people and find evidence with regard to crimes."

"And not being seen helps in that area too."

Gilan nodded.

"But if Rangers have such an important job, wouldn't most of the ordinary people be glad to have them around? Why do they seem so nervous of Rangers?"

Gilan shook his head.

"Think about it. These people are the ones we gather information from. When we gather information, we try not to be seen. That makes people nervous. They do thank us for doing our job, but they don't really understand us and they fear that which they don't understand."

"So being a Ranger isn't exactly a social job."

"Not with most of the population. But we're a very close-knit group, more like brothers than co-workers. We mostly know each other by name and there's a wonderful camaraderie among us." He smiled at her. "And now we've got a sister."

"But if I'm the first female Ranger, won't some of the Rangers be..." Trina chewed on the left half of her bottom lip as she searched for the right word. "unhappy that there's a girl joining?"

"There will most likely be some unwillingness to accept you." Gilan admitted. "And those who think we should stick with only males in the corps will probably be fairly vocal about it."

Trina shrugged.

"Then that's their problem." She said carelessly. "I'm going to be a Ranger whether or not they like it."

In truth, she was nervous about how bad the protests would be. But as long as someone was willing to train her, she was going to prove herself. Being Morgarath's daughter hadn't stopped her from starting her apprenticeship and complaints weren't going to stop her from completing it.

"Are we there yet?"

Gilan didn't bother answering. They had been travelling for five days, out of Meric fief and into Caraway fief. Gilan had woken up Trina early one morning three weeks into her training and told her to get dressed and come with him. Much to her annoyance, he had refused to answer and questions as to where they were going. The two of them had been travelling down the main road and were now following a trail of packed snow through a forest.

They came out into a clearing with a house and a stable on either side of a paddock that had been cleared of snow. Smoke spiralled from the chimney of the house and a pile of firewood was piled along one side.

"Hello, Jake! Anybody home?" Gilan called out cheerfully.

The door to the house opened and a tall man with a fringe of disappearing red hair came out. A boy with short black hair followed.

"Morning, Gilan!" The man called back in a very deep, booming voice. "Good to see you again."

"Are they ready?"

"They are indeed. Who's this fella you've dragged along with you?"

Trina had finally cut her hair short after its length repeatedly got in the way.

"This is my new apprentice, Trina."

"Trina? You're a girl?" The black haired boy blurted out.

Trina nodded icily. They couldn't expect her to be all friendly and open with strangers she had never met before.

"Nothin' wrong with that." Jake chuckled. "This here's my new apprentice, Cody."

Cody grinned at Gilan and Trina. Trina rolled her eyes. Honestly, how could that boy be so excited to meet people he had never met before? If you had a group of people you knew and trusted, you didn't need to go opening yourself up to strangers.

Jake let out a shrill whistle and three horses trotted out from the stable on the other side of the paddock. The tallest one, a bay mare, went directly to Gilan. He rubbed the horse's muzzle, producing an apple for it.

"Miss me, Blaze?"

For some strange reason, Blaze chose to shake her mane in a negative gesture right then. Jake had to laugh.

"That's be Cody's fault, he spends so much time with that one in particular. I suppose those sugar cubes don't help either."

Trina was looking at the other two. They were shaggy and small, more like ponies than horses. One was light grey with a darker muzzle and legs. The other was a chestnut with a white patch covering its left eye and ear.

"This is Sprint and Scamp. One of them should do fine for you, eh?" Jake was smiling at Trina.

Why was everyone being so annoyingly friendly?

Trina shrugged noncommittally. She didn't know anything about horses.

"Well, come on in and see which one suits your fancy."

Trina glanced at Gilan, who gestured for her to go ahead. She put her hands on top of the fence and vaulted over. Sprint and Scamp looked at her curiously. She looked right back, almost daring one of them to make a move. Scamp looked at a barrel of apples placed strategically out of reach on the wrong side of the fence, then back at her.

Trina smirked. She thought she could get to like Scamp.

Eventually.

"I told you so!" Cody burst out, looking at Jake in triumph. Gilan and Trina looked at him curiously. "I told him Scamp would be chosen before Sprint! Scamp's the first one I helped train."

Gilan looked at Cody, at Scamp and then at Trina before saying with a perfectly straight face "Better go with Sprint, then."

**A/N **

**So Trina is finally an apprentice! And Gilan has a 'helping the helpless' complex... And an apprentice who doesn't drink coffee! *gasp of horror***

**I had toyed around with the idea of using Old Bob as the source for Trina's horse, but I figured that the Rangers in the northern fiefs wouldn't want to travel all the way down to Redmont on foot to get their horses, so in here the major fiefs each have a horse trainer for the Rangers and those from the smaller fiefs (like Meric) would use the one closest to them.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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